ALBANY >> Shereesha Richards knows that there is a target on her back.

The University at Albany sophomore forward is well aware that teams gameplan around her and she’s fairly certain that her name has been brought up more than once in West Virginia practices this week as the No. 2 Mountaineers prepare to take on the No. 15 Great Danes in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday afternoon.

Richards, who is averaging 20.3 points per game for UAlbany, knows all of that; she just doesn’t really care.

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Teams, West Virginia included, can prepare all they want for Richards, but no matter what the gameplan is the America East Player of the Year isn’t ever going to change her approach.

She’s simply going to play.

“I play aggressive, but at the same time I’m not going to get frustrated if things aren’t going my way,” Richards said. “I’ve got to find some other means of contributing to the game. I’m not going to go and get rattled and do something dumb like foul a player.”

“So, for me it’s more just stay calm and collected but at the same time be aggressive and don’t let your opponent pressure you into not doing something you’re uncomfortable doing.”

Throughout the season, Richards has been the driving force behind the Great Danes undeniable success and heading into the NCAA tournament she leads UAlbany in just about every statistical category, including points, steals and rebounds.

She’s also the only Great Dane player to play in, and start, every single one of the team’s games this year.

But all of those stats and all of that exposure this season has led to Richards becoming the focal point of UAlbany, causing teams to build their defensive efforts around her and even earning a name drop during the ESPN selection show on Monday night.

It would be very easy for any player to let all of that notoriety go to their head, and Richards is certainly confident, but she’s not about to allow her season-long success to affect the way she competes. If anything, this season has only fueled Richards’ personal fire.

“When my teammates get rattled, there has to be someone out there who calms everyone down,” she said. “I want to be able to get things back in perspective and in control.”

For Richards, the biggest thing she does on the court isn’t scoring or rebounding or even forcing turnovers.

To some extent, Richards considers herself the protector of her team.

When teammate Sarah Royals was hit in the face during the quarterfinals of the America East tournament two weeks ago, Richards took the play personally and, as result, took it upon herself to take over the game.

Going into Sunday’s game against the Mountaineers, Richards knows that the physicality will be high, the tempo will be fast and UAlbany will be playing at a completely different level than anything the Danes are used to in league play.

But, even with all of that, Richards is ready to maintain her protective role.

“I know we go hard in practice and we beat up on each other, but when it comes to someone else beating up on us, it’s a whole different thing,” she said. “When someone us tries to take advantage of your team, your family, that’s when you step up and you protect your family.”

Sunday’s game is going to be different from anything Richards has ever played in, but despite that and despite the pressure, the Great Danes standout is ready.

More importantly, she’s excited.

“I’ve been waiting,” Richards said. “I’m watching all these games, the guys and then the girls are about to kick off too and I’m just like oh my gosh I can’t wait to get out there and play. You see upsets going on and so I’m excited. I’m just like ‘oh my gosh, this could be us.’ We could be making history here.”